California gun bill follows Texas’ lead

Measure to let citizens enforce state weapons ban gets support of governor

SAN DIEGO — A new bill in California would allow private citizens to target gunmakers just as a law in Texas lets citizens target abortion providers. Gun advocates have promised a court challenge if it becomes law.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday backed legislation that would let private citizens enforce the state’s ban on assault weapons. It’s modeled after a Texas law that lets private citizens enforce that state’s ban on abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Newsom said he hopes the proposal forces the U.S. Supreme Court’s hand on the Texas abortion law. He said it will either expose their “hypocrisy” if they should block California’s proposal that affects the gun industry and not the Texas law on abortion, “or it’ll get them to reconsider the absurdity of their previous decision.”

“There is no principled way the U.S. Supreme Court cannot uphold this California law. None. Period, full stop. It is quite literally modeled after the law they just upheld in Texas,” Newsom said.

The Firearms Policy Coalition, an advocacy group, pledged a court challenge if the California bill becomes law.

The proposed firearm restrictions are “really just modern-day Jim Crow laws designed to suppress the exercise of human rights the tyrants who run California don’t like,” the group said, promising to “litigate wherever needed to protect the rights and property of peaceable gun owners in California.”

“California already has the strictest gun laws in the nation, so it’s not clear what Governor Newsom is hoping to accomplish here besides a sad publicity stunt,” Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher said in a statement.

Texas’ new abortion law is unique in that it bars the government from enforcing the law. The idea is if the government can’t enforce the law, it can’t be sued to block it in court. That hasn’t stopped abortion providers from trying to block the law. But so far, the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority has allowed the abortion law to stay in place pending a legal challenge.

California has banned the manufacture and sale of assault weapons for decades. But last year, a federal judge overturned that ban. The law is still in place while the state appeals the decision.

The proposal fulfills fears expressed by some gun rights groups, who have opposed the Texas abortion law because they worried that liberal states like California would use the same principle on guns.

“If Texas succeeds in its gambit here, New York, California, New Jersey, and others will not be far behind in adopting equally aggressive gambits to not merely chill but to freeze the right to keep and bear arms,” attorney Erik Jaffe wrote in a legal brief on behalf of the Firearms Policy Coalition, a nonprofit group that advocates for gun rights.

California’s bill has not been filed yet in the state Legislature. But a fact sheet provided by Democratic state Sen. Bob Hertzberg’s office said the bill would apply to those who manufacture, distribute, transport, import into California, or sell assault weapons, .50 BMG rifles, ghost guns or ghost gun kits.

The bill would let people seek a court order to stop the spread of these weapons and recover up to $10,000 in damages for each weapon, plus attorney’s fees.

The bill is one of four pieces of legislation targeting the gun industry in California. The other bills would make it illegal to market assault weapons to children, make it easier for people to sue gun manufacturers for liability in shooting incidents and crack down on ghost guns.

The bill by Democratic Assembly-member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, AB 2571, would limit the type of firearms advertising and marketing that can be geared toward children and youths. She and Newsom said the gun industry is using children’s books, mascots, apparel and guns decorated to appeal to children, as well as social media, to appeal to youths.

They specifically criticized a company called Wee1 Tactical, which markets the JR-15, patterned after the popular AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

The company’s website says its goal is to “safely help adults introduce children to the shooting sports.”

The company did not immediately respond to a telephone message and email seeking comment.